Outland

1981
R
1h 49m

IMDb RATING

6.6/10

33K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

Play trailer2:51

Conspiracy Thriller Action Crime Sci-Fi Thriller Western

A federal marshal stationed at a mining colony on the Jupiter moon of Io uncovers a drug-smuggling conspiracy. He gets no help from the workers or authorities when he finds himself marked fo... Read allA federal marshal stationed at a mining colony on the Jupiter moon of Io uncovers a drug-smuggling conspiracy. He gets no help from the workers or authorities when he finds himself marked for murder.A federal marshal stationed at a mining colony on the Jupiter moon of Io uncovers a drug-smuggling conspiracy. He gets no help from the workers or authorities when he finds himself marked for murder.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.6/10

33K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

4,017

1,618

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 1 win & 7 nominations total

Trivia
Writer-director Peter Hyams handled the cinematography for most of this movie, while Stephen Goldblatt usually worked when there was something Hyams did not know how to do. Goldblatt was misleadingly hired by Hyams, who really wanted him to stand aside and do nothing, and to use him as a scapegoat for the Ladd Company in case anything went wrong while using the new IntroVision process. He was furious at being lied to and wouldn't have taken the job if he'd known Hyams' intentions at the outset, but stayed on in order to learn how to use IntroVision, and because as a young cinematographer with a sole prior feature credit, quitting the movie could have ruined his career. It is the only one of his movies whose wrap party he skipped.

Goofs
Several times during the first half hour of the movie, O'Niel's uniform name tag changes spelling from "O'Niel" to "O'Neil" and back again.

Quotes
Dr. Marian Lazarus: You know, if you're the kind of guy you're supposed to be, you wouldn't stick around. That's why they sent you here.
Marshal William T. O'Niel: Maybe they made a mistake.
Dr. Marian Lazarus: I was afraid you'd say something like that. You really think you're making a difference?
[O'Neil is silent]
Dr. Marian Lazarus: Then why, for god's sake?
Marshal William T. O'Niel: Because... maybe they *are* right. They send me here to this pile of shit because they think I belong here. I want to find out if... well, if they're right. There's a whole machine that works because everybody does what they're supposed to. And I found out... I was supposed to be something I didn't like. That's what's in the program. That's my rotten little part, in the rotten machine... I don't like it. So I'm... going to find out if they're right.

Connections
Featured in Sneak Previews: The Legend of the Lone Ranger, Outland, Death Hunt, Take This Job And Shove It (1981)

User reviews187

Review

Featured review

9/10

under-estimated sci fi western,

After leaving the James Bond franchise in 1971, Sean Connery gave a number of notable performances in films such as The Offense and The Man Who Would Be King but Outland is really the film that started him on the comeback trail that culminated with his Oscar acceptance speech 6 yrs later for The Untouchables. No one seems to recall this but at the time of Outland's release, no one had seen or heard from Connery for a few years and most of the reviews, while not kind to the film for a variety of reasons--chief among them being the fact that most movie critics (at least back then) harbored serious prejudice against sci fi--the main comment was "It is good to see Sean Connery back in action again".

This film has one of the best production designs ever.Phillip Harrison did a superb job. Obviously the look was copped from Alien--blue collar workers in space--but it works remarkably well. I was often reminded of OUTLAND during my seven year prison term; the housing was remarkably similar--as was the company. But I digress...

Nothing special about the plot-- it's routine cop show or western movie stuff--but who cares? Sean Connery gives a splendid performance and the whole film moves at a nice clip. Very enjoyable.